Silverlake Wine and Heirloom LA were a winning combination in October, November and February, so the Sunday tasting was nearly a sure thing. Charles Smith’s Walla Walla wines were good, but for me, this tasting will be remembered for Chef Matthew Poley’s new line of fresh pastas, which fall under the Heirloom banner.

Poley departed Michael’s on Naples in April and wasted no time in implementing his pasta plan, securing a small production kitchen in Burbank. He spent two days in the kitchen preparing for Sunday’s tasting, and his success was evident in all the clean plates and the sold out bins of fresh pasta and sauces. We tasted four pastas and given the results, it’s hard to imagine a better line of fresh pastas in L.A. at the moment.

We each grabbed a chilled glass of 2008 Charles & Charles Rose and bellied up to the bar to watch Poley work his magic with three burners and an equal number of jumbo pans.

The floppy-haired man standing in the wings, wearing a Black Rebel Motorcycle Club T-shirt, turned out to be Charles Smith of K Vintners in Walla Walla, Washington. Since 1999. his goal has been to produce wine with “balance, drinkability and texture.” To accomplish that feat, Smith creates Rhone-centric wines using sustainable to biodynamic methods, relying on native yeasts and foot crushing grapes in 1-ton stainless steel bins. “I have nice feet,” said Smith, assuring the 83-person crowd. “I get pedicures all the time.”

Smith said his Rose is single-vineyard, made with grapes grown in earth heavy with basalt, gravel and course sand.

The pairing: 2008 K. Vintners Viognier. Smith makes his Viognier with grapes culled from a single vineyard, which he ferments in native French bourbon barrels using no secondary fermentation.

Poley began his second course by adding home-cured guanciale to two pans. He looked at the third pan and said, “Should I make one vegetarian?” He answered his rhetorical question by tossing a fistful of guanciale into the third pan.

The aroma that emanated from sizzling guanciale was almost overwhelmingly enticing. I was tempted to grab a handful of pork jowl from the pan. Third degree burns be damned. My restraint was rewarded with the opposite of pain. He added sweet cream, English peas and plenty of pepper before tossing on chitarra, strips of pasta similar to fettuccini that soaked up the hog-infused cream. This was a terrific dish, ultra savory from the guanciale with sweet al dente peas.

The pairing: 2006 Chateau Smith Cabernet Sauvignon. Smith joked that his Chateau Smith Cabernet Sauvignon was his “fuck you to people who make up faux European stories,” winemakers who don’t own a chateau and can’t define a cloe. His goal: create a wine with medium balance that’s full on the palate and has immediate drinkability. Mission accomplished.

The pairing: 2006 K. Vintners “Guido” Sangiovese/Syrah. Smith said he was tired of being a hypocrite, complaining how much he hated domestic Sangiovese. He blended 80% Sangiovese with 20% Syrah and called it “Guido.” That way, “You know it’s going to be an Italian varietal.” He produced 150 cases using grapes grown in cobblestone soil with strong minerality.

The pairing: 2006 “Motor City Kitty” Syrah. Smith produces a very limited number of barrels of this spicy red to honor regular customers at his winery’s annual December weekend. He uses tiny, intensely-flavored grapes. The name emanated from his punk rock cat and in honor of the MC5.

Unfortunately, Poley’s talented Heirloom LA partner Tara Maxey returned to L.A. too late to prepare dessert. The only other possible gripe: we only received a small portion of each pasta. Thankfully, both “gripes” will be easily remedied at Heirloom LA’s next SLW tasting.